Limitations: Scope, challenges, and windmills

Limitations happen when you set goals. That is why Limitations constitute the fourth step of the GoalsWork model. All goals contain limitations. You can classify almost all limitations into three main categories: limitations you want, real limitations, and windmills (false limitations appearing real). Let's review each type briefly. We will also examine how to deal with each type.

Limitations You Want to impose on your goal. You establish certain limitations when you set your goal. You may define the limitations you want as the scope of your goal. Typical limitations include

• Time is one of the obvious limitations you set. You determine when you will accomplish the goal. You set a deadline. You should also define the limitations or the amount of time you will spend on achieving your goal. You may want to define how many hours a day, week, or month you devote to the goal.
• Money is another limitation you should establish for your goal. You call the financial limit you set a budget. The budget not only limits how much money you use, but how you will use it. Quicken and other accounting software programs eases the budgeting and accounting process. Too many people don't create or follow-through on this vital limitations. Sadly, the joy of achieving their goal reduces because of the cost or debt incurred achieving it. So, set financial limitations.
• Quantity also limits your goals. You may limit you goal to only purchase one car this year instead of six. You may also set a limit on how often you do something. For example, you may say I want to go to Disneyland once every two years (or two months). You may set a goal of how many books you want to read or write.
• Geography typically applies to vacations or trips. Geography definitely impacts where you work or live. Storefront businesses limit their market populations by the geographical location of the business. Hence the oft repeated warning that the three most important things in establishing your business are location, location, and location.
• Other limitations include whatever may impact your goal. Businesses set market niche goals limiting their business goal to a clearly defined client. You may wish to limit your goal to a specific purchase, trip, character trait you wish to develop, or charity to which you wish to donate..

Real limitations you didn't establish frequently deter you from achieving your goal. Ignoring real limitations doesn't help. You can overcome real limitations. In fact, the ability to overcome them defines the difference between real goals and windmills (which will be discussed later). Resolving real limitations requires planning. Others help you find the resolutions and create the plans. Frequently, they encountered the same limitations when they achieved the same goal. Let me share the three most common limitations and options to solve them.

• Time can limit your goal. You may not find enough time to work on the goal. You may not feel that you can accomplish the goal in time. Overcoming this limitation usually requires managing or reallocating your time. For example, I have to give up some television and reading time to write my blogs and books. You many need to sacrifice evening entertainment to finish college or to build your boat. Time is one of the easiest limitations to overcome--on paper--but difficult to overcome in reality. A good time-management course or tool can help resolve this real limitation.
• Money definitely limits goals. Careful budgeting can frequently reallocate money from paying debt to accomplishing goals. I do not advocate delinquency on debts. I advocate setting a goal to get out of debt. Dave Ramsey, Clarke Howard, M-velopes, and others can help you start spending your money the way want to. Businesses can still find money for expansion during these difficult times. Many credit unions, for example, still offer business loans. Micro finance and other sources give small loans (under $10K) to help businesses grow.
• Expertise limits many goals. Frequently, you can't achieve your goal because you don't have the skills. The easiest answer to this limitations requires learning the skill. Several options exist for learning skills: you can read books, go on-line, take a class, or ask someone with the expertise to teach you.

Windmills (False Limitations Appearing Real ) haunt most people. I refer to them as windmills based on Don Quixote's experiences. He and his compatriot Sancho Panza traveled the road. Sancho Panza saw several windmills along the side of the road. The disoriented Quixote saw giants with huge arms waving a challenge to the knight errant. Many times we falsely perceive a limitation. Frequently, we exaggerate the limitation into a giant. Usually, the limitation only exists in our head.

You may discern whether a limitation is real or a windmill by observing how it responds to a plan. Real limitations become manageable with a plan. Comfort and reassurance replace frustration when real limitations encounter a well-laid plan. Windmills resist plans or any kind of resolution. If no matter what you do, the limitation remains usually consider it a windmill.

May I share an example. One woman had a life-long goal to write. She wanted to write short-stories, books, and articles. She heard "You can't do that." every time she mentioned this goal to her mother and father. They firmly established "You can't do that" in her psyche. One day, in her 30's, she quit her job at an advertising agency (where she did not write copy), went to the family cabin, and wrote. She supported herself working freelance as production assistant on commercials. She wrote over 100 short stories, 3 books, and about 50 articles over the next two and half years. She never published them because publishing was not her goal. Writing was her goal.

Now comes the windmill. Every three months during the entire 30 months she called me. "I can't do this" she would say. I responded "OK. Let's talk about it. Are you writing? [Yes] Are you getting freelance jobs? [Yes] Did you earn as much money in the last three months as you would have at the ad agency? [Yes. In fact, I made more money than I would have at the agency. BUT I CAN'T DO THIS]" At this point I would invite her to come to my office and we would discuss what she wanted to do. She never came to my office. She faced the windmill in our conversation and stepped around it without defeating it. As a result she would call me three months later when she met it again, and we would repeat the process. That is how she dealt with her windmill. By the way after writing for 30 months, she left the cabin and went back to work at the same advertising agency as a copy writer. Having achieved her goal she move on with her life.

Since windmills are irrational and illogical, then irrational and illogical methods work best on them. I will share some of the common windmills and the illogical tools to defeat them in a later blog.

In summary
Limitations occur when you try to change your life. Limitations raise their head when you set goals and begin to work on them. Limitations come in three flavors: limitations you want, real limitations, and windmills. Don't ignore limitations face them, deal with them, and resolve them. Others can help you do so. Actions make it so.

Good luck dealing with your limitations. List some of your limitations as comments on this blog and see how others can help you resolve them.